Most State Occupational Safety Boards have enacted a safety standard which requires the testing of ground anchors which are used to hold guy lines supporting the derricks or masts of service rigs used in oil field work or other towers, as an antenna. In part, this standard, referring to the anchors, states: ". . . the owner or representative shall make representative pull tests for the area, and size and type of anchor involved using recognized testing methods . . . " Additionally, the standard furnishes the deadman test load which each anchor must support and the amount of load to be applied during testing.
Prior systems for testing anchors normally include a load measuring device which is hydraulically actuated and, in operation, is attached to the test line leading to the anchor. The load is applied to the line and increased to that specified in the safety manual. If the anchor resists this applied load it is considered to be satisfactorily tested.